Steven, thanks for sending along that link. I just read all of Michelle's lengthy post on panels and most of the 44 comments I saw today. She's correct to a major degree and it's definitely a good idea to follow her advice.

The panel is about X, X being the topic of the panel, not you, (Y). If the moderator asks you about how you handled X (the panel topic) in a story or novel, you (Y) are allowed to talk about it, which equals Z, but keep Z relevant and brief and entertaining--no long discourses--which bother almost everyone and will cause the wrong kind of ZZZZZZZZ to happen.

There's a slippery slope when it comes to talking about your own work, but I can't go with what Michelle was endorsing 100%, which is never talking about your own work, as apparently Connie Willis never talks about her own work. I think you have to talk about it very briefly when you give your introduction in the beginning, and at the end when you say thank you to the audience, and when someone asks about it--which is usually the moderator--which is what Michelle endorsed as well.

I've attended a ton of panels over the past 19 years, and have been on a ton more since 2005, and they're hard to pull off without a good moderator.

I recommend getting in at least one mention of your work, at the end of the panel after you say thank you where you make your final thought about the panel topic, and then say, "Thanks for coming to this panel, and I'll be doing a reading of my urban fantasy story, _________, from The Crimson Pact anthology tomorrow at 3 in the Cedar room, and I hope to see you there. I'm going to give away a free e-copy of the antho at the end of the reading. Thanks again."

Hand the mic to the moderator. Wait outside for a few minutes and see if anyone wants to chat.

Another bit of advice: Prepare yourself for the panel. Research the topic and never, ever say, "I have no idea why I'm on this panel." You're a writer, prep for it, do some research. I almost always walk out if someone on the panel says that line now. It feels like they're wasting my time. If the other panelists are great authorities on this topic, I'll stick around, but if the whole panel acts like they don't have any knowledge on the topic and are just bullshitting me, I don't like it.

Michelle's blog post is a good one for sure, so if you're going to be on a panel please check it out.

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The Iron Dragon Series

About Me

Paul Genesse is the author of The Golden Cord, which is the bestselling fantasy novel Five Star Books has ever had. He is also the author of The Dragon Hunters, and The Secret Empire in his Iron Dragon Series. He loves writing short fiction and has sold over a dozen, which appear in various DAW anthologies, and elsewhere. He is also the editor of the five volumes in the demon-themed Crimson Pact shared multiverse anthology series. He lives with his very supportive wife, Tammy, and a large collection of fantasy art in his basement art gallery.
He worked full time as a cardiac nurse for 17 years, and as of October 2014 works as a clinical analyst for a large healthcare company. He has also worked as a copy editor, computer game consultant, and naturally he enjoys speaking at conventions, and doing school visits. He is a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, and loves The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies. He wants to become the nerd Jimmy Fallon and enjoys interviewing movie and TV stars at large media conventions like Salt Lake Comic Con. Please friend him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @Paul_Genesse, explore paulgenesse.com and send him pictures of dragons.